Masked men armed with gun threaten prison guards and torch cars in Birmingham prison car park rampage

TWO masked men armed with a gun have today threatened prison guards and set cars on fire at Birmingham prison.

Armed officers rushed to HMP Birmingham this afternoon following reports of men running around with a weapon.

It is understood that two prison officers had walked onto the car park and saw the men spraying liquid on vehicles in the car park.

One of the men then pulled a gun out and threatened the wardens to stay back - before lighting the liquid.

Up to 10 cars have been destroyed and the men are believed to have escaped after climbing over a fence.

Eyewitness Warren Davies, 21, described seeing a huge "ball of fire" coming from three vehicles.

He said: "I was watching out of the back window. I saw a big ball of fire. It was coming from the three main cars.

";I heard the popping of the tyres and windows and all the police turned up.

There’s a hole in the fence. I come here every day and that fence has never been like that. It’s obviously been deliberate."

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "We are responding to an incident on a car park outside Birmingham prison where several cars have been set on fire.

"There are no reported injuries.

"Two masked men, reportedly armed with a firearm, were seen to make off in a vehicle. More information to follow when we have it."

A West Midlands Fire Service spokesman added that two fire engines and 10 firefighters were responding to the incident which involved "a number of cars".

Director of HM Prison Birmingham, Rob Kellett, said: "At approximately 13:30 this afternoon an incident took place in the car park across the road from HM Prison Birmingham.

"Nobody has been injured. West Midlands Police and the fire service are in attendance, and a fire has been extinguished."